Aside from saving tuition money, tons of high school graduates go to community college to make productive use of their time as they figure out which field or discipline they want to major in. Instead of going straight to universities and enrolling under a four-year course program that you’re still unsure of, a good option you can take is to attend community college to explore different courses and fields. To help you decide whether to go to a community college or not, we’ve outlined some of the community college pros and cons.
Disadvantages and downsides
Community colleges cannot provide the ideal college experience you dream of because of limited exposure to student diversity. There is also a limited range of curricula and course programs offered in community colleges, and students can only be granted with Associate of Arts degrees. This is why most students who go to community colleges eventually transfer to universities and four-year colleges, where they can get their bachelor’s degrees.
Pros and perks
Along with low financial costs, another major perk of going to a community college is the assistance it provides students with transitioning from high school to college. Although the work load in community college courses are lower, it’s still effective in giving students a glimpse of what’s in store for them when they do decide to pursue four-year courses in universities. Taking up courses in community colleges may also help boost the GPAs of students who didn’t do so well in high school.
Most community colleges employ an open door policy, which means they accept all applicants regardless of their previous academic performance. So if your high school GPA doesn’t meet the minimum requirements at universities, you can opt to enroll in a community college first and boost your GPA before you go back and apply to four-year colleges and universities. The class sizes in community colleges also tend to be small, which ups professor-student interaction and allows lecturers to zero in on students’ areas of difficulty.
Photo Credit : Pat Hawks
